The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) called on consumers to buy meat only from licensed dealers, who are allowed under the law to distribute locally sourced or imported meat.
Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim of the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) of the DENR noted that, aside from special permits from the Department of Agriculture (DA), dealers of exotic meat must secure all the necessary permits from the DENR-BMB’s Wildlife Bureau.
Lim noted that underground trading of exotic meat is still rampant because of the increase in demand.
Buyers make the orders in advance. Although Lim said there is already a farm in Bicol that breeds and raise deer as livestock. There is also a farm in Davao that breeds and raise wild boar. There are nine crocodile farms in the Philippines that export crocodile skin and sell fresh and processed crocodile meat that is offered in a select restaurant and grocery stores.
These, Lim said, undergo a very tedious permitting process. Wildlife poachers, meanwhile, simply hunt them in the wild, in violation of various environmental laws meant to prevent the extinction of these endangered animals.
“Whether you are a seller or a buyer, you may be slapped with a penalty or fine under Philippine laws,” Lim said.
According to her, the Philippines strictly abides by the Conventional on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) and implements Republic Act (RA) 9147, or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act.
Cites lists roughly 5,800 species of animals and 30,000 species of plants that are protected by the international treaty against
overexploitation.
The list includes meat and meat by-products that are endangered, like wild boar, deer, crocodiles or other products that are not classified as animal livestock or food for human consumption.
Section 3, or the Scope of Application of the Wildlife Act, states that trading of wildlife species found in all areas of the country, including protected areas under RA 7586, otherwise known as the National Integrated Protected Areas System (Nipas) Act, and critical habitats are prohibited. The law also applies to exotic species which are subject to trade, are cultured, maintained and/or bred in captivity or propagated in the country.
Lim said as a policy, the DA’s National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) needs to certify that the meat, whether fresh or processed, are safe for human consumption.
“On our part, we must first establish that the meat or its by-products are genuine or is what the sellers say they are. If it is not, it is not within our jurisdiction. But, still, the seller is liable for violating the Consumer Act,” Lim said.
The DENR-BMB discourages consumption of endangered wild animals, even among indigenous peoples, because of their conservation status.
Animals like the Philippine tamaraw, or Mindoro dwarf buffalo, is traditionally part of the diet and culture of Mindoro’s Mangyan tribes.
Some indigenous groups also traditionally hunt wild boar and deer for food, with the forest being their main source of sustenance.
However, Lim said because these wild animals are threatened with extinction, the DENR-BMB is regulating hunting to prevent their extinction.
The DENR-BMB allows farms to sell fresh meat and other by-products of the saltwater crocodile, or Crocodylus porosus, wild boar or pig, or deer if they are bred and raised in captivity or in farms, which have permits to operate, provided that the animals are not identified in Cites.